Strawberry Pumpkin Fields
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: Ichigo's name doesn't mean 'strawberry', but 'one who protects'. Kyoraku and Ukitake taicho plan a Halloween party for the young Shinigami and Quincy to help smooth things over after the war. Toshiro is dragged into going to the party despite his issues and worries that occur when dealing with others his age. Ichigo finds himself asked with Rukia to help with the party, but...
1. Costume Scare

_Disclaimer – I don't own Bleach. This fanfic was written for Wattpad's FanFicFriday contest for Halloween. This story happened to also be selected as one of the winners as well. The challenge was to create a Halloween story ten-thousand words or shorter. They also gave some prompts the writers could choose to work with which caused this story to pop into my head._

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Costume Scare<em>**

"We don't celebrate Halloween in Japan." Ichigo looked down at Rukia as she held up a box containing hair dye in one hand and a box of colored contacts in the other. His stomach flipped as he looked at the hair dye and his Adam's apple bobbed down. "_I swore I would never change my appearance as I am happy with who I am. She should know this._" He swallowed again and reached up and scratched his head in frustration. "You want me to do what?"

Rukia pulled the boxes close to her eyes as they widened and her lip twisted up into a pout. "It's a costume Ichigo."

"Yes... but you want me to dye my hair. You of all people should know that I have issues with changing my appearance."

"It's just contacts." Rukia pointed to the dye with another finger while still holding the box of contacts. "I also picked out hair dye that washes out." The female Shinigami continued to pout at him. "Please? Please Ichigo?"

Ichigo sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. "Fine. I give in. You won't let this go until I do agree."

He felt Rukia tug him into the kitchen area of the thirteenth division. He watched as she prepped the sink. She pulled over a chair and he relaxed with the hopes she really knew what she was doing. She ruffled his once orange hair dry and handed him the contacts. Ichigo carefully put them in. Rukia handed him a mirror. His brown eyes were now an aqua color. The teens mouth twisted up into a frown. "These eyes aren't normal."

"You need to remove the adornments on your uniform." Rukia piped up. Her voice twisted with excitement as she tugged her fukutaicho badge off. "You'll also need this."

The teen sighed as he removed the adornments that were attached to his Shinigami Uniform. "Exactly who am I supposed to be? I mean... this is supposed to be a Halloween costume... right?"

"That's a secret."

"What do you _mean_ secret?"

"It's..."

A crashing sound caused Ichigo to turn his head to the entrance of the kitchen. The third seat of the thirteenth division stood there having dropped the tray of dishes she was bringing back from the captain's room. Kiyone's face was pale and her eyes wide with fright. "Kaien-dono!"

The brown haired female tore away while Ichigo looked at the dark haired female who was blinking a couple of times. "Oi! Did you expect this to happen?"

Rukia turned to look at him, her eyes still blinking. "Yes. That went better then I thought it would."

Ichigo pointed at the door way. "Well? Kiyone-san acted like she saw a ghost. What am I supposed to be?"

"Actually... it's more like who." Rukia looked away as her voice got softer.

"Dear god! Kaien-dono's ghost does walk among us!" The second third seat stood in the doorway, his face also pale and his eyes also wide. Sentaro's finger pointed at Ichigo, the third seat's entire body trembling. "You're supposed to be dead."

Sentaro then spun on his heals and hurried off. Ichigo tilted his head to look at Rukia, his stomach ache coming back. "Rukia... this isn't funny. Exactly what is going on? Who is this dead guy you dressed me up as?"

"Well..."

"Oh my." Ukitake's voice drew Ichigo and Rukia's eyes to the doorway. The taicho of the thirteenth division's face was pale like the others. He at first didn't say anything. A hand went up to his lips as if he were in thoughts. "How did Rukia put you up to this Ichigo?"

"She said it was just a costume." Ichigo took a deep breath. His mouth snapped shut upon realizing something. "Wait... you didn't confuse me for this Kaien person."

"To be honest... I had to do a double take." Ukitake walked over. "You do look a lot like him." The man placed a hand on his chin. "I was going to ask you and Rukia to help with the party being held for the Quincy and Shinigami children."

Ichigo chocked. "Are you sure that is a good idea? The Quincy and Shinigami don't exactly get along."

"The children get along all right. With everything that has happened to them... being turned into zombies and brought back some of them... they need something to lighten the mood." Ukitake's eyes darted up and down. "About that costume..."

"I can change if it is a problem."

"No..." Ukitake placed a chin on his eye. "I wonder..."

"You wonder what?" Ichigo's hand reached up to nervously scratch the top of his head. He wasn't sure if he liked the way this was going.

"This would scare a few if the children." Ukitake had a distant look in his eyes.

"That's why I planned Ichigo's costume the way I did." A smile appeared on Rukia's face. Ukitake blinked at her while Ichigo let out a deep breath of frustration. Something told him the man wasn't any more excited about Ichigo's costume then he was.


	2. Spooks Scare

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Spooks Story<em>**

"I will not participate in something as childish as a costume party." Toshiro felt his cheek twitch as well as his eyebrow and jaw. The young taicho of the tenth division sat at his desk leaning on his arm. The palm of his left hand pressed against his cheek as he looked at Rangiku with a look of utter disgust on his face. The woman in question leaned over his desk with a smile on her face while she held the bag that held the costume she'd managed to finagle for him. "_Seriously... I have better things to worry about._"

"Come on taicho. Things have been tense around the division. You need to lighten up." The woman's mouth twisted into a rather annoying pout as she tried to guile him into doing what she wanted. "Ever since you were turned into a zombie and brought back to life..."

"Don't talk about that!" Toshiro's eyes widened as he stood up. The desk chair clattered to the ground. His throat tightened as he swallowed. His bright teal eyes darted down to see that his hands were clenched into two balled up fists that were so tight that his knuckles were turning white. He bit the inside of his mouth. "_I need to worry about what my division members think of me after failing to the point of dying, being manipulated by the enemy and being brought back to life. The last thing I need is to participate in some childish costume party._"

The white haired youth looked up to yell at Rangiku in order to emphasize the fact he wasn't going. His breath stopped short when he saw the red haired fukutaicho step through the doorway of the office. Renji raised a hand. "Happy Halloween Hitsugaya Taicho!"

"Abarai..." Toshiro's voice strained. "I'm not wanting to hear about Halloween."

"Oh come on! I've heard rumor that things have been tense around here and that you need some cheering up after what happened."

"Matsumoto!" The two bright teal eyes of the young taicho turned to look at the woman in question. The look on her face tried to present some kind of sheepish innocence. The boy turned his head back to the red haired Shinigami. "Look. I don't need cheering up with childish nonsense."

"I came to tell you a spooky story since it's Halloween. Spooky stories are far from childish."

"As if you could scare me."

Renji smiled at the challenge the young taicho put forth. "All right. There is this story that goes like this. A friend of a friend of a relative..."

"You don't have a relative." Toshiro glared at the man.

"Taicho... just let him tell the story."

Toshiro sighed and waved his hand for Renji to continue.

"As I was saying... a friend of a friend of a relative of a teacher told me this story." Renji watched the small taicho's face twitch from annoyance. "That's how your supposed to start a spooky story."

"Get on with it." The young taicho looked at the evening sky with a look of boredom..

"This person happened to have a really close relative or friend that they looked up to. One day this person they looked up to died a very tragic death. The person this story is about found themselves very, very sad at this persons death. They wished that this person would come back to see them. Then one day they looked out the window and..." Renji leaned forward to emphasize the next part. "...there was the dead person looking back at him with black eyes!"

"That isn't scary." Toshiro glowered at the red haired Shinigami. "People in Soul Society are already dead. Since we're already ghosts we can't come back as ghosts. We can only come back as..." The young taicho's mind drifted to an answer. "... hey!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean..." Renji raised his hands up into the air. "It honestly was a ghost story... not a zombie story!"

"What ever." Toshiro looked back at the window. His eyes suddenly widened upon seeing something pass by the window. The young taicho thought he saw a familiar face with dark hair. The youth shook his head and swallowed. "_There is no way it could be that person. I'm seeing things._"

"Looks like I managed to scare you!"

"You did not!" Toshiro snapped as his foot tapped the floor from annoyance and his arms crossed his chest.

"Taicho..." Rangiku's voice suddenly sounded timid.

"Matsumoto... please tell me that story didn't scare you."

"No... I forgot to mention something."

"And what would that happen to be?"

"I forgot to mention the fact the costume party is mandatory."

Toshiro's bright teal eyes blinked a couple of times. "Say what?"

Renji looked at Rangiku. "What costume party? How come I haven't been invited?"

"The party is for the younger Shinigami and younger Quincy." Rangiku smiled at the other fukutaicho.

"I'm not a child." Toshiro's face twisted into a pout.

"As I told you. It's mandatory." The woman leaned forward over the young taicho's desk again.

"Why?"

"Because Ukitake and Kyoraku Taicho know that you won't participate unless you're made to participate." Rangiku shoved the costume into Toshiro's arms. "Here... you don't have to change until later tonight."

A small boney hand reached out to pull the costume out of the bag. Toshiro grimaced at the furry costume. "What exactly is this?"

"A werewolf costume. I thought it was adorable."

Toshiro let out a deep breath. "_If she thinks it is adorable... then I'm in trouble. It's likely some__thing __horribly embarrassing._"


	3. Black Kitty

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Black Kitty<em>**

Ukitake's nervousness about Ichigo's _costume _made the teen even more nervous. He looked at the man hoping he would explain _who_ he was supposed be dressed at. Something in the man's eyes told Ichigo that Ukitake didn't know how to explain _who_ the teen was supposed to be. "Rukia..." Ichigo swallowed as he looked at the female Shinigami. "Exactly why do you think that me dressing up as a dead person is a good idea."

"Because it is Halloween."

"That..." Ichigo felt Rukia tug on his sleeve. Ukitake let out a sound and held up to protest. The small female moved too fast and managed to tug Ichigo out of the thirteenth division kitchens. "... honestly, having me dress up like a dead person..."

"... is the creepiest thing I can think of." Rukia continued to tug on Ichigo's sleeve.

"And that is a good thing?"

"The goal of Halloween is to scare people, is it not?"

"Yes. I mean no!" Ichigo let out a deep sigh. "I mean..."

"On top of this Kaien-dono was so cool!"

"And the point is?"

"Well... isn't the other point to dress up as something you admire if something that it isn't creepy? This does both, does it not?"

"Rukia... I don't even know who this guy happens to be. So I can't admire him. But I do find the fact _I _am dressed like him to be quite creepy. Who is he?"

The small female of course didn't answer. "I heard the party is being held at one of the larger building near the tenth division."

"Yes, but..."

A black cat started walking across their path causing Rukia to stop. Ichigo crashed into the small female and almost knocked her over. The black cat blinked at them a couple of times before sitting down. "Ichigo... what do you think you're doing?"

Ichigo blinked a couple of times. "Lady Yourichi..."

"Sometimes I wonder how males can be so stupid." The black cat reached up one back leg to scratch at her ear.

"Me? Stupid?" The teen pointed first at the black cat. A chocking sound came out of his throat. He then pointed at Rukia. "It was her idea!"

"And you're the one who went along with it. That makes you a moron." The black cat narrowed two yellow cat eyes at Ichigo.

"I didn't realize that she wanted me to dress up like a dead person when I agreed!" Ichigo's voice strained even more. His jaw hung open for a few minutes while he continued to point. "Wait.. don't tell me. You know who I'm supposed to be!"

"I do." Yourichi blinked at the two. "Rukia... what made you think this is a good idea?"

"I read about it in a book."

"This wouldn't happen to be one of those Gothic novels you read?" Ichigo swallowed.

"Yes. This is quite normal."

"Excuse me while I go have a word with someone." The black cat stood up. "You are going to have bad luck tonight Ichigo."

"Bad luck? You mean because a black cat crossed his path."

"No. Because you are a moron to go along with this." Yourichi's tale twitched as she walked off.

Ichigo felt Rukia tug on his sleeve and the substitute let out a groan. His eyes rolled back as he wished he had never agreed to the costume he was wearing. They past by the tenth division and towards the building. Ichigo pulled her to the side to speak to her about the costume choice.


	4. Twisted Pumpkin

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Twisted Pumpkin<em>**

Toshiro held the bag with his costume to his chest as his lips twisted up. He stepped into the room and stopped short. His bright teal eyes widened at seeing the other children, his throat swallowing only to stick from the nervousness felling in the pit of his stomach. Nobody notice the fact he entered the room and instead remained focused on what ever task they were preoccupied with.

Yachiru and another girl were sorting through the bowls of candy and discussing their favorite candies. Hanataro worked on decorating the room with Rin while Rin kept staring at the piles of candy the girls were sorting out. Ryunosuke sat at a table with pumpkins sitting on top. His chin rested on the edge of the table while he watched Shino carve a pumpkin. Rikichi sat leaning back on two chair legs with his arms crossed behind his head. Three other girls sat next to the window chatting with each other.

The girl with magenta colored hair blinked a couple of times as her hands crossed on her lap. She wore a dress in the ama-loli style with red trimmings. The front of the dress used a flat corset front in a cream color. She wore in her hair two pink bows with thin red ribbons attached. Her socks were white knee highs and she wore red ballet style shoes that tied around her ankle.

The girl with blonde hair wore a dress one would expect to see in the Victorian era with a sepia color scheme. The skirt cut off around the hip revealing brown pinstripe socks that went up to her thigh. She wore cowboy boots. Her sleeves puffed out and cut of short. The girl held in her hand two long sleeves that would add length to the costume. On her head was a brown har with a feather in it and her blond hair was carefully styled as if she had spent a good bit of time on her hair.

The purple haired girl wore a white sailor outfit with purple trimmings. Her boots went all the way up under her skirt and she wore a black head band. Toshiro felt as if he had met her before, only to flinch upon realizing that she was the one person to have noticed him when he had come into the room. His throat tightened nervously as he blinked a couple of times. A voice in the back of his head reminded him of something. "_She also was turned into a zombie._"

Letting out a sigh he looked at the pumpkin Shino was working on. The female Shinigami had removed the top, but hadn't bothered to remove the seeds from inside the pumpkin. She slowly carved out the first eye. The "guts" coming out of the pumpkin caused the boy to swallow. "_That looks nasty._"

The girl proceeded to cut out the other eye. Not only did more "guts" come out, but the second eye was much smaller. She continued to carve the pumpkin out, butchering the face as she went. When she finished everything she frowned. Toshiro jumped slightly as she stabbed the knife into the pumpkin in frustration. Ryunosuke let out a sigh. "You shouldn't do that Shino."

"How come I can't carve a cool pumpkin like you did!" The girl pointed over to the carved pumpkins over by a tub with water. Apples bobbed up and down in the water.

"I don't know."

The purple haired female crossed her arms. "When are you going to change into your costume Liltotto?"

"I don't want to." The blond haired girl continued to sort through the candy.

The girl with the magenta hair pouted. "Our costumes are supposed to match."

"Match... that's a laugh Mini." The girl glared at the two. "Your guys costumes match your hair colors. Mine doesn't."

"Hey! I'm stuck wearing something that doesn't breath!" The girl with blond hair rolled her eyes. "I think that is a worse complaint."

"So you admit you like wearing skimpy clothes Candy." Liltotto also rolled her eyes.

"Shut up."

Toshiro took a deep breath and headed over to another window and sat on the long bench. Nobody noticed him as he walked around the edge of the room. He set his bag down and pulled one knee up. He let out a sigh hoping nobody would notice him.


	5. Bobbing for Apples

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Bobbing Apples<em>**

The young taicho's stomach flipped as he continued to look at the other young Shinigami and the young Quincy in the room. His knee was pulled up to his chest as he sat on the bench. His jaw pressed against his knee. The other youth in the room continued about their business as if he wasn't there. One hand hung over his knee limply. "_I'm not sure if I like the fact I am being ignored. The reason I didn't want to come to this party..._"

"..._is because you worried that the others will either ignore you or __will treat you as if he doesn't belong._"

Toshiro brushed away the voice in the back of his head. His bright teal eyes looked down at the bag that contained his costume. He kept observing the other youths only to see that the Quincy girl that noticed him before looking at him again. The other girls kept chatting away. Eventually the blond female noticed the direction the girl was looking in. "One of the Shinigami taicho happens to be a kid?"

"_I'm not a kid._" Toshiro's stomach lurched again. He thought he saw someone pass by the window behind her with black hair that was familiar. The boy blinked his bright teal eyes a couple of times before shaking his head.

Hanataro overheard the girl speaking about the small taicho. "Ah! Hello Hitsugaya Taicho."

This brought the other youths attention towards the small taicho. He didn't say anything and remained still. Ryunosuke blinked a couple of times upon seeing the young taicho. "Hitsugaya Taicho came to the party too."

Shino frowned as she looked up from her butchered pumpkin. "Nah. Hitsugaya Taicho is too stuck up. He thinks he's better then us because he graduated from the academy as young as he did. He's only here because they made him come."

Toshiro found himself looking away as the feeling of rejection welled up. He remained silent despite the fact he didn't like the feeling. The purple haired girl spoke instead. "Really?"

A silence fell over the room. Shino looked at the girl as a frown spread across her face. For some reason the female Shinigami didn't say anything. Instead it was the blond haired Quincy girl. She stood up. "If you're here, you might as well participate."

Toshiro's bright teal eyes snapped over to look at the girl. "What do you mean by that?"

"We're being forced to participate as well." Liltotto didn't look him in the eye. "Of course... there is the fact we're being given candy. That helps placate myself."

One of Toshiro's eyebrows rose up at the girl's odd wording. He tried to look away from everyone. He swallowed as his nervousness grew. "_Exactly what am I supposed to say? If I say nothing, they'll take it the wrong way. If I say something they'll construe it a different way then I mean it._"

"_You don't want to be here though._"

Toshiro swallowed again. "_I don't want to be here because I knew this would happen. I also don't want to be here because I don't want to be seen as even more childish __then those my own age._"

"So..." The voice caused the young taicho to flinch. The blonde haired female leaned over to look him right in the face. "... do you really not want to participate?"

Toshiro's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "I..."

The girl titled her head towards the apples in the tub. "Why don't you try this?"

The blond female grabbed his arm and pulled him over to the tub of water with apples bobbing up and down. He felt his shoulders tense up at being grabbed by the girl. He looked at the waters and swallowed. "What..."

"This is a game. You dunk your head into the water and try to bite down on an apple." The girl pushed on his back slightly. "Come on. Play the game."

"Candace..." The girl with the purple hair spoke.

The girl with blond hair ignored her. "Come on..."

"He won't do it."

Toshiro looked up to see Shino folding her arms across her chest. He swallowed despite his trepidation. Looking at the water bothered him for some reason. "_I'll try. If I don't..._" He knelt down on one knee, only to stare at the water. A feeling of dread welled in his stomach. He couldn't place the fear that welled in the pit of his belly. Toshiro could see his reflection with his silvery white hair and his bright teal eyes. His mouth twisted up as the feeling of sinking and drowning came over him.

A hand pushed his head from behind and his head dipped under the water.


	6. Smashed Pumpkins

**Strawberry Pumpkin Fields  
><em>Smashed Pumpkins<em>**

A memory flashed through Toshiro's mind. The sensation of falling washed over him. A cold sweat broke out on his skin as if he had hit the water. He felt himself being pulled under and everything freezing. The voices of the other people could be heard. The pressure at the back of his head that pushed him down suddenly left and a tug came at the back of his clothing. He gasped for breath and blinked a couple of times.

His teal eyes looked down at the tub and noticed the thin layer of ice now floating on the surface of the water. His arms hung at his sides and his fingers remained limp. _"What happened?"_

"_Don't you remember? You almost drowned as a child._"

Toshiro moved slightly to feel that someone still had him from behind. His lips tightened and he spun around as he stood up. This action caused the person holding onto the back of his uniform to let go. He found himself face to face with the violet haired girl. "You!"

"You think I was the one who pushed you in? That was Candace."

Toshiro's bright teal eyes stared at the girl as water dripped off locks of hair. He found himself swallowing as he took in the others in his view point. Shino was sitting at the table while Ryunosuke looked at him with a horrified look on his face. He felt a hand touch his shoulder cauasing him to swallow again. Hanataro's voice came from behind him, the tone quite worried. "Are you all right Hitsugaya Taicho?"

The young taicho swallowed again. "_All of this... this was a bad idea. This..._"

His nostrils flared and the voice in the back of his head spoke again. "_You know full well you want to participate. You just don't know how._"

"I told you he doesn't want to participate in the party and play games with us." Shino piped up. Ryunosuke opened his mouth to say something. The girl stood up and poked Toshiro in the chest causing him to take a step backwards. If you don't want to be here then why don't you leave."

Toshiro found himself taking another step backwards. As he stepped backwards he felt something crunch under his foot. His face twisted up into a grimace as he felt something wet and gooey slip under his sandal and into the sock of his uniform. He swallowed as he looked at the girl. Ryunosuke's head darted up. Something told Toshiro that the other boy was about to burst into tears. "_I just managed to step on his pumpkin, did I not?_"

He watched as the purple haired Quincy girl placed her hands on her hips, her mouth twisting up into a frown. The purple haired girl's mouth opened up. "Hey..."

"_She's mad at me as well..._"

Shino turned to look at the girl. The purple haired Quincy flicked her finger and an orb went flying at Shino's mutilated pumpkin. The pumpkin began to glow before suddenly exploding. Toshiro felt pumpkin 'guts' hit him in the face. He reached one hand to wipe the pumpkin guts onto the ground. A frown creased his facial features. He felt his chest tighten. "I can very well take care of myself!"

The next thing he knew he was flash-stepping out of the room.


End file.
